Azerbaijan plane was hit from outside, possibly by weapon, minister says – National

An Azerbaijani minister suggested Friday that a plane that crashed this week was hit by a weapon, citing expert analysis and survivor testimony indicating the plane was hit from outside.

Rashad Nabiyev’s statement put pressure on Russia. Officials in Moscow have said a drone attack was underway in the region where the Azerbaijan Airlines flight was destined for, but have not addressed statements by aviation experts who blamed the crash on Russian air defenses that responding to a Ukrainian attack.

The plane was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, on Wednesday when it turned toward Kazakhstan and crashed while trying to land there. The crash killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured.

Nabiyev, Azerbaijan’s minister of digital development and transport, told Azerbaijani media that “preliminary conclusions of experts point to external influence,” as well as witness testimony.

“The type of weapon used in the impact will be determined during the probe,” Nabiyev said.

Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the plane as it passed over Grozny.

Ambulance attendant Aydan Rahimli said that after one sound the oxygen masks released automatically. She said she went to administer first aid to a colleague, Zulfugar Asadov, and then they heard another bang.

Asadov said the sounds sounded like something hitting the plane from outside. He rejected the claim by Kazakh officials that an oxygen canister exploded in the plane.

Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia, said on Friday that as the plane was preparing to land in Grozny in deep fog, Ukrainian drones targeted the city, prompting authorities to close the area to air traffic.

Yadrov said that after the captain made two unsuccessful attempts to land, he was offered other airports, but decided to fly to Aktau in Kazakhstan, across the Caspian Sea.

But he did not comment on statements by some aviation experts, who pointed out that holes seen in the plane’s tail section suggested it could have come under fire from Russian air defense systems.

Ukrainian drones have previously attacked Grozny and other areas in the country’s North Caucasus.

Azerbaijan Airlines blamed the crash on unspecified “physical and technical interference” and announced the suspension of flights to several Russian airports. It did not say where the interference came from or provide further details.

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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the claims that the plane was hit by Russian air defenses, saying it will be up to investigators to determine the cause of the crash.

“The air incident is being investigated, and we do not believe that we have the right to make assessments until the conclusions are made as a result of the investigation,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.

If it is proven that the plane crashed after being hit by Russian air defenses, it would be the second fatal civil aviation accident linked to fighting in Ukraine. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down by a Russian surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 people on board, as it flew over territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by Moscow-backed separatists in 2014.

Russia has denied responsibility, but a Dutch court in 2022 convicted two Russians and a pro-Russian Ukrainian man for their role in shooting down the plane carrying an air defense system that was brought into Ukraine from a Russian military base.

Investigators from Azerbaijan are working in Grozny as part of the investigation into Wednesday’s crash, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement.

After suspending flights from Baku to Grozy and Makhachkala on Wednesday, Azerbaijan Airlines announced on Friday that it will also suspend service to eight other Russian cities.

The company will continue to operate flights to six Russian cities, including Moscow and St. These cities have also been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian drone strikes in the past.

Kazakhstan’s Qazaq Air also announced on Friday that it would suspend flights from Astana to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains for a month.

FlyDubai also stopped flights to Sochi and Mineralnye Vody in southern Russia for the next few days.

The day before, Israel’s El Al carrier suspended flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow citing “developments in Russia’s airspace.” The airline said it would reassess the situation next week.

& copy 2024 The Canadian Press